Graph Theoretic Concepts

What is a graph?
• A set of vertices (or nodes) linked by edges

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• Mathematically, we often write G = (V,E)
 V: set of vertices, so |V| = number of vertices
 E: set of edges, so |E| = number of edges
Graphs
• A graph G (sometimes called networks) consists of
two things:
(i) A set V = V(G) whose elements are called vertices,
points, or nodes of G.
(ii) A set E = E(G) of unordered pairs of distinct
vertices called edges of G.
• Vertices “u” and “v” are said to be adjacent if there is
an edge e = {u, v} joining them.
• the edge “e” is said to be incident on each of its
vertices u and v.

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Example of a graph

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Examples

1. Vertex set = {v1, v2, v3, v4, v5, v6}

2. Edge set = {e1, e2, e3, e4, e5, e6, e7} e7
3. e1, e2, and e3 are incident on v1 v6

4. v2 and v3 are adjacent to v1 v4 e5

5. e2,, e3 and e4 are adjacent to e1
6. e6 and e7 are loops v5
v1
e6
7. e2 and e3 are parallel
e1 e2 e3
8. v5 and v6 are adjacent to themselves
9. v4 is an isolated vertex v2 v3
e4
10. Endpoint(e5) = (v5, v6)
Degree of vertices in a graph
• The degree of a vertex “v” in a graph G, written deg
(v), is equal to the number of edges in G incident on a
vertex “v”.
• Each edge is counted twice in counting the degrees of
the vertices of G.
• Therefore, sum of the degrees of the vertices of a
graph G is equal to twice the number of edges in G.
• A vertex is said to be even or odd according as its
degree is an even or an odd number. A vertex of
degree zero is called an isolated vertex.

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Various types of graphs
• Connected/disconnected graphs

• The circled subgraphs are also known as connected

components
Various types of graphs
• Weighted/unweighted graphs

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• You may treat unweighted edges to be weighted

edges of equal weights
Multigraphs
• The edges “e4” and “е5” are called multiple edges
since they connect the same endpoints, and the edge
“e6” is called a loop since its endpoints are the
same single vertex.

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Complete, regular and bipartite graphs
• A graph G is said to be complete if every vertex in G
is connected to every other vertex in G.
A graph G is regular of degree k or k-regular if every
vertex has degree k. (I.e every vertex has equal
number of edges)
• A graph G is said to be bipartite if its vertices V can
be partitioned into two subsets M and N such that
each edge of G connects a vertex of M to a vertex of
N.
• By a complete bipartite graph, we mean that each
vertex of M is connected to each vertex of N.

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Graphs.G1

Graphs.G2

Graph G1 is complete, 3-regular and G2 bipartite

graphs
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Directed(digraphs)/undirected graphs

• You may treat each undirected edge as two directed

edges in opposite directions
Directed graphs or digraphs
• Directed graphs are graphs in which the edges are
one-way or arrows. A directed graph G or digraph
consists of two things:
• (i) A set V whose elements are called vertices, nodes,
or points.
• (ii) A set of ordered pairs (u, v) of vertices called arcs
or directed edges.

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Directed graphs

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Degrees of digraph
• The outdegree of a vertex v of G, written outdeg(v), is
the number of arcs beginning at v, and the indegree of
v, written indeg(v), is the number of arcs ending at v.
each arc begins and ends at a vertex.
• Theorem: The sum of the outdegrees of the vertices
of a digraph G equals the sum of the indegrees of the
vertices, which equals the number of edges in G.

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 Adjacency matrix of digraph

X Y Z W
No. of 1’s in A is X
equal to no. of Y
edges, row total Z
and col. Gives the W
indegree and
outdegree, resp. 17
Adjacency list
In graph theory, an adjacency list is the representation of all edges or arcs in
a graph as a list.
Connectivity of digraphs
• There are three types of connectivity in a directed graph G:
• (i) G is strongly connected or strong if, for any pair of vertices
u and v in G, there is a path from u to v; and a path from v to
u, that is, each is reachable from the other.
• (ii) G is unilaterally connected or unilateral if, for any pair of
vertices u and v in G, there is a path from u to v or a path from
v to u, that is, one of them is reachable from the other.
• (iii) G is weakly connected or weak if there is a undirected
path between any pair of vertices u and v in G.

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Digraphs and relations
• The relation R is reflexive if every node has a loop.
• The relations R is symmetric if arcs are bidirectional.
• The relation R is transitive if for any sequence of
consecutive arcs, there is a single arc from the first to
the last node.

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Digraphs and relations

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Paths and connectivity
• A path in a graph G consists of an alternating sequence
of vertices and edges of the form;
v0, e1, v1, e2, v2, ………., en-1, vn-1 , еn, vn
• where each edge ei contains the vertices vi-1 and vi
(which appear on the sides of edge ei in the sequence).
• The path is said to be closed if v0 = vn. Otherwise, we say
the path is from v0 to vn, or between v0 and vn, or
connects v0 to vn. A simple path is a path in which all
vertices are distinct.
• Length of a path is the number of edges in the path.
• A graph G is connected if there is a path between any two
of its vertices
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Eulerian circuit vs Hamiltonian circuit
• A Hamiltonian circuit in a graph G, named after the
nineteenth-century Irish mathematician William
Hamilton A805-1865), is a closed path that visits
every vertex in G exactly once.
• Eulerian circuit traverses every edge exactly once,
but may repeat vertices, while a Hamiltonian circuit
visits each vertex exactly once but may repeat edges.
• An Euler circuit for G is a circuit that contains every vertex and every edge of G.
That is, an Euler circuit is a sequence of adjacent vertices and edges in G that starts
and ends at the same vertex, uses every vertex of G at least once, and every edge
exactly once.

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 HAMILTON PATHS & CIRCUITS

■ A Hamilton path in a graph is a path

that includes each vertex of the
graph once and only once.
■ A Hamilton circuit is a circuit that
includes each vertex of the graph
once and only once. (At the end, of
course, the circuit must return to the
starting vertex.)
Euler Paths and Circuits

Euler path- a continuous path that passes through

every edge once and only once.

Euler circuit- when a Euler path begins and ends

at the same vertex